Professional boxing icon Canelo Alvarez has apologized to Lionel Messi and the people of Argentina after making multiple accusations and threats toward the soccer star. Following Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Mexico in the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar, a viral video of Messi appearing to kick a Mexico jersey caught the attention of Alvarez who immediately took to Twitter in a fit of rage over the perceived disrespect.
“Did you see Messi cleaning the floor with our shirt and flag????” Alvarez said in a translated tweet. He followed that up with another tweet saying, “He should pray to God that I don’t find him!!”
While many believed the contact Messi made with the Mexico jersey was simply incidental as he was removing his cleats and not an intentional showing of disrespect, Alvarez continued to double down on his accusations in another tweet.
“Just like I respect Argentina, he has to respect Mexico!!”
Canelo Alvarez Issues a Statement of Apology
Since then, Canelo Alvarez has cooled down and is now apologizing for his comments to both the well-known soccer star and the country he represents in the World Cup tournament.
“These last few days I got carried away by the passion and love I feel for my country and made comments that were out of place, for which I want to apologize to Messi and the people of Argentina,” Canelo wrote Wednesday on Twitter. “Every day we learn something new, and this time it was my turn.
“I wish both teams much success in their matches today, and here we will continue supporting Mexico until the end.”
Argentina punched their ticket to the round of 16 in the 2022 World Cup, going 2-1-0 to open the tournament while Mexico was eliminated by a one-goal differential.
